Apple’s App store hits 10 billionth download

Apple has announced that its App Store has now hit 10 billion downloads since it launched in July 2008.

Paper Glider, made by Cirencester-based iPhone App developer Neon Play was downloaded by Gail Davis from Orpington in Kent. She was rewarded with a $10,000 (€7,376) Apple gift card.

Apps have found remarkable popularity among users of all Apple’s 160 million compatible devices, with Facebook’s free app the most popular.

Gaming, however, has become a mainstay thanks to the iPhone and iPod’s sensitive touchscreens. Of the top 10 paid-for apps, nine are currently games, and Doodle Jump is the most popular paid iPhone app of all time.

Paper Glider, which Ms Davis told the BBC her daughters had downloaded without telling her, requires users simply to swipe across the screen to ‘throw’ a paper aeroplane out of an office window and through various environments. Apple has called it 'the most addictive paper flying game ever'.

It took the App store 11 months to reach its first billion downloads, but accelerated growth saw it reach 3 billion by January 2010, and 10 billion just a year later. Users of the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad can all download apps.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said: 'With more than 10 billion apps downloaded in just two and a half years, a staggering seven billion apps in the last year alone, the App Store has surpassed our wildest dreams.'

Oli Christie, chief executive officer at Neon Play, said his company had been “been eagerly discussing the 10 billion app countdown in our game studio, so when I got a call from Apple Cupertino saying they had some "good news", I thought they might tell us they were featuring one of our apps on the App Store.

When they said that Neon Play's Paper Glider was the 10 billionth app, I was completely and utterly dumbstruck. It's a great piece of news for the whole Neon Play team. Paper Glider is currently the number one app in the UK, so this is a double piece of great news for our studio."

Apps allow users to customise their devices; prices range from free to typically a few pounds or less.